None of this is easy but it doesn’t need to be made more difficult than it is already.
What can make it easier?
Having the health and finance LPA done is invaluable. I did mine using the government website. It wasn’t difficult and didn’t take long either.
An LPA is a godsend when someone’s health changes and difficult decisions need to be made. With an LPA, the person’s wishes are expressed, understood and accepted, so their friends and family only need to convey them by sharing the LPA.
Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney
Adaptations
Adaptations can have a practical benefit, they can be essential for safeguarding both the carer and the client or they might improve the client’s quality of life.
Getting the home assessed so that adaptations, such as adding handrails in the bathroom were essential for Roger and the carer to feel safe.
The toilet frame with a seat served a practical need, as well as, providing an element of safety and stability.
The council awarded a grant to have the bathroom changed. It had a cubicle which was impossible for Roger to shower in. However, the new wetroom was easy to navigate using the tools that were essential for mobility and safe transfers.
Roger’s quality of life was improved with things like antislip mats in the shower (before the bathroom was renovated), adaptable cutlery, a wheelchair, a folding seat cane, a laptop to access tools for communication and so on.
Other essential things
A Will is something that everyone should have in place because we don’t know when we’re going to die and it’s a way to ensure that our belongings are inherited by people who we have chosen. A Will can also avoid or minimise clashes when emotions are high and the survivors may not receive what they are expecting.
Critical illness policies will offer some sort of payout for certain conditions so it’s worth contacting them.
Having a live-in carer isn’t cheap. Therefore, we had to look into what could be sold or borrowed to ensure that Roger was safe. It’s worth keeping in mind that, paying a live-in carer is cheaper than staying in a care home. However, both have pros and cons. A few that come to mind are that a care home provides a sense of community. Also, they can usually assist residents with needs that can’t be managed within their residential home.
Money
We had to make sure that Roger and the carer were protected when it came to money. There are rules and policies about how the carer should purchase items for their clients, what they’re not allowed to do, what they can do as long as they keep accurate records and so on.
Some of Roger’s friends had concerns about the amount of cash that was lying around. They knew that Roger wouldn’t be able to use his cards to access cash as he wouldn’t be able to put the pin in and they didn’t feel that the carer should know the pin. If Roger needed something, the carer could use make the purchase using contactless but they didn’t feel it was right for him to use Roger’s card in that way.
The agency didn’t want the above happening either. The reason I’ve shared these examples is because we received calls and messages about these concerns based on what some people noticed when they went to visit Roger.
The family found a way to ensure Roger had some cash at home. The cash was logged on a form and if the carer helped Roger purchase things using that money, they would log it on the sheet. Other than that, if he needed more money or needed to make a purchase with some sort of card, he asked his son to do it.
Over a year later
It’s been over a year and things seem to be steady. Roger is happy living in his home whilst being supported by a live-in carer. Some consultants have discharged him whilst others need to see him regularly. The adaptations have made a huge difference. Recently, some nights have been difficult for Roger. He woke up feeling cold but couldn’t reach the blanket to cover himself. On one occasion, he wanted water but the glass fell so he remained thirsty. There have been some scary moments, for example, when he struggled to breathe because he couldn’t shift the mucus and on a few occasions, he’s experienced intense stiffness in his legs. Therefore, we’ve started looking into employing a night carer. Their role is to be awake during the night so that they can check in on him and support him when necessary.
